This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 119 to No. 2000-87185 filed in Japan on Mar. 27, 2000, the entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for monitoring the status of manufacturing products, more particularly to the method and apparatus for monitoring the status of manufacturing products continuously according to one of a plurality of manufacturing processes.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In the case where a licensing with a royalty is contemplated with respect to a patented invention or know how on a method or an apparatus for manufacturing products continuously, the royalty may be calculated on the basis of the number of products manufactured according to the method or apparatus. In this case, it is necessary to obtain the number of operations of the manufacturing process, or the number of products manufactured by the manufacturing process, accurately.
In Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 8-215992, Japanese Patent No. 2737415 and so on, there is disclosed a technology for monitoring and checking the operating status of working machines, remotely. And, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 6-96381, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 11-237093 and so on, there is disclosed a technology for monitoring the consumption of energy used by production lines, remotely, and calculating the amount of fees charged to each division. Furthermore, in accordance with the progress of the technology of information and communication, It is proposed that a computer software is distributed to a work station of a third party through a communication infrastructure such as the Internet, and that the status of using the software is monitored remotely, to count the used amount, and even to charge fees according to the used amount, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 6-119164, for example.
According to the method and apparatus as described in any of the above-described publications, however, it was impossible to obtain the number of operations of the manufacturing process, or the number of products manufactured by the manufacturing process, accurately. Therefore, not only the periodical accounting of the royalty on the basis of the number of operations of the manufacturing process, or the number of products manufactured by the manufacturing process, reporting and confirming the same were troublesome, but also it was very difficult to obtain the accounting result which would satisfy both parties, i.e., a licensor and a licensee. Especially, in the case where the object to be licensed is the patented invention or know how of the manufacturing process, and where a well known manufacturing process and the licensed manufacturing process can be practiced by a commonly used manufacturing apparatus, and these processes are executed alternately, it will be very difficult to determine which manufacturing process was executed, or which manufacturing process was executed to provide the finished products.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for monitoring the status of manufacturing products continuously according to a predetermined manufacturing process out of a plurality of manufacturing processes, certainly and easily.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for monitoring the status of manufacturing products continuously according to the predetermined manufacturing process, certainly and easily.
In accomplishing the above and other objects, the method for monitoring the status of manufacturing products continuously according to one of a plurality of manufacturing processes, comprises determining if at least a predetermined manufacturing program out of a plurality of manufacturing programs corresponding to the plurality of manufacturing processes has been executed, storing the number of operations executed for manufacturing products according to the predetermined manufacturing program, when it is determined that the predetermined manufacturing program has been executed, and outputting the stored number of operations executed for manufacturing the products according to the predetermined manufacturing program.
The apparatus for monitoring the status of manufacturing products continuously according to one of a plurality of processes may comprise a determination device for determining if at least a predetermined manufacturing program out of a plurality of manufacturing programs corresponding to the plurality of manufacturing processes has been executed, a storage device for storing the number of operations executed for manufacturing the products according to the predetermined manufacturing program, when the determination device determines that the predetermined manufacturing program has been executed, and an output device for outputting the number of operations executed for manufacturing the products according to the predetermined manufacturing program stored in the storage device.
For example, in the case where a license agreement was made with respect to a predetermined manufacturing process for manufacturing products continuously, and where a manufacturing apparatus was sold by a licensor to a licensee under such conditions that the licensee would pay to the licensor a royalty calculated on the basis of the number of products manufactured by the licensee according to the predetermined manufacturing process, if the manufacturing apparatus sold by the licenser could perform a plurality of manufacturing processes, including not only the licensed process but also a well known prior manufacturing process, it would become necessary to identify the products which were manufactured by the licensed process. In that case, the manufacturing apparatus may be constituted so as to manufacture the products according to a predetermined manufacturing program corresponding to a predetermined manufacturing process out of a plurality of manufacturing programs corresponding to a plurality of manufacturing processes, and the method for monitoring the status of manufacturing products may be practiced, or the apparatus for monitoring the status of manufacturing products may be connected to the manufacturing apparatus, or may be formed therewith in a body. Then, it can be determined that at least the predetermined manufacturing program out of the plurality of manufacturing programs corresponding to the plurality of manufacturing processes has been executed, and the number of operations executed for manufacturing products according to the predetermined manufacturing program can be stored, when it is determined that the predetermined manufacturing program has been executed, so that the stored number of operations executed for manufacturing the products according to the predetermined manufacturing program can be output.
In the method and apparatus for monitoring the status of manufacturing products, a program may be provided for determining if the predetermined manufacturing program has been executed, together with the plurality of manufacturing programs, or independently therefrom. In addition, a detection device may be provided for detecting operation of a certain driving device operated according to the predetermined manufacturing program, to output a predetermined signal, on the basis of which it is determined if the predetermined manufacturing program has been executed. Furthermore, it may be so constituted that the number of operations executed for manufacturing the products according to the predetermined manufacturing program is stored, when it is determined that the predetermined manufacturing program has been executed according to the determining program, and determined that the predetermined manufacturing program has been executed on the basis of the output signal of the detection device. The stored number of operations may be transmitted to a communication infrastructure.
On the basis of the result monitored by the method and apparatus for monitoring the status of manufacturing products, various embodiments can be constituted. For example, it may be so constituted that if the number of operations is not output under a predetermined limited condition, the manufacturing apparatus is prohibited from being operated. It may be so constituted that the predetermined manufacturing program is stored through a communication device, and that the status of manufacturing products is transmitted through the communication device. Furthermore, it may be so constituted that a fictitious manager is placed on the communication infrastructure, and the status of operation of the manufacturing apparatus and/or the stored information of operation are transmitted to the manager, and that the licensor contacts the manager to check the status.